Didsbury - best state secondaries for ADHD?

[QueenKong101]

Hi,

My Year 5 child has recently been diagnosed with moderate ADHD – hoping to have an EHCP in place v soon.

Looking ahead to secondary applications and we're unsure as to which is the best bet in terms of state school for a bright, sporty kid who has LD – we're in catchment for both Didsbury High and Parrs Wood, but open to out of area too.

Any advice gratefully received.

Parrs Wood is significantly bigger than Didsbury in pupil numbers and has good sports facilities. By the time your child is in Year 7 Didsbury still won't be at full capacity as it won't have a Year 11 yet so could be beneficial in that respect although it may also have a smaller staff.
Have you been accepted for an EHCP assessment? Would William Hulme be an option that's got pretty good sports facilities and I think possibly the new CHS South building will too. If you do get a plan you will have a lot more options but not sure if out of authority schools would be a consideration for you as Ashton on Mersey is brilliant for sport but quite a trek to get to compared to Parrs Wood. Cheadle Hulme High School might be worth thinking about too.

Thank you so much @Councilworker - lots to research here! I was initially drawn to the idea of a smaller school for the community feel but now wondering if a larger school might be preferable in terms of facilities and extra-curriculars and SEN support.

We've been advised by our consultant that an EHCP is likely so just starting the process now.

Thank you!

Many children with a diagnosis of ADHD don’t get an EHCP as their needs can be met within the general SEN funding in school. If he is making progress academically in school he’s less likely to get one as the strategies being used to support him would be working.
It can take upwards of 20 weeks for an EHCP or be processed, which means that it won’t come through before the secondary school applications have to be submitted. I’d advise that you should treat his application as if he won’t get an EHCP, so that if that happens he’s still got a chance of going to your nearest school. If he does get an EHCP after the schools have been allocated then there’s a chance that his allocation could be altered in light of this.
Has the primary school SENCo advised applying for a needs assessment, or just the Consultant? in my LA, the CAMHS consultants were taken to task by the LA as they were giving incorrect ‘advice’,to parents with regards to EHCPs, eg if a child has a diagnosis one will automatically be awarded.

Has he already seen school EP ? If not, school isn't hugely concerned and the camhs consultant could very easily be wrong about how likely he is to have ehcp before secondary. In my experience the whole process takes at least a year from the point where you start holding regular minuted meetings and gathering evidence for the ehcp panel.

That's helpful to know, thank you. An EHCP is certainly not something we're reliant on - this is all very new to us so being guided by the consultant while we research as much as we can.

I'd have a meeting with both schools even if by zoom etc. Ask lots & lots of questions. DidHigh has high number of SEN pupils but lots of people have different views on how good or not this is. PWHS has very wide provision. Look at the ethos of both. All their transition stuff on line. It's really quite different. Look at where friends are going too eg West Didsbury DC will mainly go DIdH as on doorstep, but the village DC mainly go PWHS due to tiny DIdH area.

Tbh with two good schools to look at I'm not sure of any advantage to a third choice unless you consider the single sex ones which are very good too.

Actually a 3rd option could be The Barlow as very small school in relation to most with good facilities

Thank you @Eatenpig, I didn't know about Barlow so I'll do a bit more research there too. We're not currently looking at single sex schools.

I've known others look at The Barlow for similar reasons. Catholic but not all children there are, closer than PW and only 180 intake not 300 etc

@QueenKong101 where did you choose in the end out of interest & did it work out?